Then you think, oh, and I need a dessert (or two) for Christmas Eve night. And one for Christmas, for good measure.

And then you make it all and realize that holy heck, that’s a lot of dessert.

Is that just me?

My problem with too much dessert is why minicheesecakes are perfect for me. The recipe makes 12 perfectly sized, individual portions and if they don’t get eaten they can be frozen for future use. #winning

I had the same problem at Thanksgiving that I’m having for Christmas. Here was the dessert list for our Thanksgiving celebration: Mom’s Pecan Pie, Crumb Apple Pie, Gingerbread Cake Roll, and these Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecakes. For 8 people.

Yeah, you can safely assume we like our desserts. 🙂

Oh, and guess what? Mel ate one of these cheesecakes! And he said it’s the best cheesecake ever! And he actually ate a WHOLE one not just one bite!

These Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecakes are made with PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, as usual. I always use the original silver package because it’s the best.

PHILADELPHIA uses locally sourced milk and real wholesome cream in their cream cheese and it’s farm to their fridge in just six days. There are no preservatives in the original cream cheese, which is another reason I love it so much.

Another thing I love so much about these Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecakes? The crust. It’s a chocolate chip cookie crust!

You can use your favorite crunchy chocolate chip cookie to make the crust. The cookies are crushed in a plastic bag or in the food processor and then mixed with butter and pressed in the bottom of a cupcake pan.

Note: I always use cupcake liners when I make mini cheesecakes. It makes them much easier to remove from the pan.

On top of the cookie crust goes the chocolate chip cheesecake mixture. One trick to make sure your cheesecake comes out perfect every time? Make sure all your ingredients are room temperature. Take the cream cheese, the sour cream, and the egg out of the refrigerator ahead of time. Cold ingredients = lumps. You don’t want lumps in your cheesecake!

I’ve also found that using a stand mixer can get out any lumps that form. You can use either a stand or a hand mixer to make these (I’ve used both in the past) but I just think a stand mixer does a better job.

I added a healthy dose of mini chocolate chips to my cheesecake. I like using mini chips because the cheesecakes are small and regular sized chocolate chips would be too clumpy. Mini ones are perfect, and there are a couple of brands of them available at your grocery store.

Once they’re baked and cooled, you need to chill these for several hours or overnight. That allows the Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecakes to set. I actually made these 3 days before I served them, so you know they last!

For a fun serving suggestion, try drizzling on some melted chocolate and some crushed cookies on these Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecakes.

I mean, more of both of those is not a bad thing, right?

And let me remind you: Mel ate one. Two actually. He ate another one the next day. Someone put a star on the calendar… 😉

For the Topping (all optional):

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 muffin cup holes with liners.

Place 17 cookies in a gallon size resealable bag. Seal all but one inch of the bag and roll with a rolling pin to crush the cookies. Alternately, you can process them in a food processor until they are a fine crumb. Stir together cookie crumbs and melted butter. Press about 1-2 tablespoons of the mixture into the bottom of each muffin liner and press to compact.

Beat room temperature cream cheese with a hand or stand mixer until fluffy. Beat in room temperature sour cream. Beat in egg, sugar, and vanilla extract until (mostly) no lumps remain. (Room temperature ingredients are a must to avoid lumps, believe me!) Stir chocolate chips with flour in a small bowl, then fold into cheesecake mixture.

Evenly divide (about 2 tablespoons each) cheesecake among crusts. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until they just begin to brown. Cool completely and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.

To make the topping, melt the 2/3 cup mini chocolate chips and oil/shortening in a small bowl in 30 second increments, stirring between each. Place melted chocolate in a small sandwich bag and cut off one tip. Drizzle over cheesecake and top with crushed cookies, if desired.

Store in refrigerator in an airtight container. Cheesecakes will last up to 4 days in refrigerator or can be frozen for up to one month. Once you add the topping, eat within the day.

This is the BOMB, Dorothy! I better have friends over when I make these, because I might just eat the whole batch by myself!

Oh my! These look fantastic!!! Mini cheesecakes are the best–at least then I can pretend I have some self-restraint before I eat the second, third and half the pan’s worth of cheesecakes. It all starts with one…

Well shoot, if Mel ate it then you know it has to be delicious 🙂

Shut up. These cheesecakes look amazing! A chocolate chip cookie crust plus more chocolate chip cookie on top. And I’m with you on the mini too. It just seems like I’m eating less if I eat a mini cheesecake than a full slice of cheesecake, plus its cuter that way!

RIGHT? That’s how I felt too!

Beautiful cheesecakes and they are bite sized, which are perfect for the holidays.

hi, i’d like to substitute the chips ahoy for another type of choc chip cookie for the crust base. was wondering if you had an idea about the amount of crushed cookies to use? (in terms of cups or ounces). thanks.

I don’t know off the top of my head, I’m sorry. You can use pretty much any cookie for the base, it’s probably about 2-3 cups of crushed cookies.

So these are in the oven right now and I just wanted to say that we may have different sized cookies because I used about 3/4 of the amount you listed and I had way too many cookie crumbs/ butter mix left over! I think I may just sprinkle it over the cookie so it doesn’t go to waste. Butter just makes it taste better right? 🙂

Definitely sprinkle them on top! I know I had some left over (I think I reserved some for photographing, just to sprinkle on top) but not a ton. I’m pretty sure I used crunchy Chips Ahoy. Hopefully you enjoy them anyway! I have some advice for the remainder of the crumbs…lol. 🙂

These are AMAZING! Would you know how long I could keep these covered in the freezer? Thanks!

I would say up to 2 months!

I made these tonight and they were a hit. We were making chocolate chip cookies and ran out of flour. We put the cookie dough in the oven and it melted into a giant rectangle. Instead of throwing the ruined cookie out I chopped it fine in the food processor and used it for the cookie crust. A cooking disaster was turned into a new family favourite! I’m glad I found your recipe. Thanks

These look amazing! I’d like to try these in a mini cheesecake pan, would you adjust the temperature?

Hi Dorothy, Thank you for your recipe, Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake bites. I took this dessert to a dinner last night. The dessert received compliments from everyone! They also looked decadent on the table. I didn’t use store bought cookies. I made my own just because I like my choc chip cookies. And you are right, room temperature ingredients help a lot. Again, thank you for sharing your recipe. 🙂